As shown in FIG. 17, a conventional nail polish ordinarily comes in a bottle having a cap attached to a shaft with an applicator brush, which is stored in the nail polish. The grip point of traditional nail polish applicators is the cap attached to the end of the applicator shaft opposite of the brush. When the brush is removed from the bottle, it is typically grasped predominantly with the fingertips. Further, the grip point (i.e., the cap) in the conventional system is also distant from the brush head of the applicator and from the shaft. As a result, a common problem with applying nail polish is the lack of adequate fine control of the brush—especially when applying nail polish with a non-dominant hand.
Further, few users of cosmetics are fully ambidextrous. Users typically have a dominant hand (often the right hand) that is more dexterous and capable of finer muscle control than the non-dominant hand (often the left hand). However, self-application of nail polish typically requires use of both the dominant and non-dominant hand of the user. During application, a user's hand may be oriented in a variety of configurations during the process of applying polish to the various fingers on both hands. As such, a conventional stylus structure having only a single rigid configuration is not optimal for use in both the dominant and non-dominant hand and all hand orientations.
There has also been a recent trend to more complex nail polish designs that associated with greater aesthetic and creative design requiring a significant amount of fine control over the application of polish. Associated with these trends are a variety of nail art tools that enable, for instance dotting and fine lines, on the human nail. However, conventional nail polish is sold with a single, fixed brush that is generally accommodated in bottles. As a result, conventional nail polish systems, standing alone, are not well suited for use with modern nail art.
As such, there is a need for improved nail polish applicators that enable fine control of the application of the polish to the nail and that permit efficient use of a variety of brush types. There is also a need for nail polish applicators that are configurable for use in both the dominant and non-dominant hand of a user as well as in various hand configurations.